Benefits of Receiving Firm Offers (Pre-Approved Credit Offers)

According to the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry website that processes requests from consumers to Opt-In or Opt-Out of firm offers of credit or insurance, there are benefits to allowing firm offers:

Consumers are provided with product choices

Consumers learn about and have an opportunity to take advantage of offers that may not be available to the general public

Firm offers help consumers to “comparison shop”, which may increase a consumer’s buying power.

In fact, there is an entire PDF focusing on the benefits of continuing to allow unsolicited credit offers. Click here to view the PDF.

Put an End to Unsolicited Credit Offers

If you feel the benefits of receiving pre-approved credit or insurance offers do not outweigh the risks – you are not alone. Many people feel that it’s far too easy for identity thieves to steal your mail or your garbage and use a pre-screened credit card offer to obtain credit in your name. Visit optoutpresecreen.com to opt out from receiving firm offers. You can always choose to opt-in again at a later time.

What are Trigger Leads?

Want another reason to opt-out? If you are in the process of buying or refinancing a home, once your credit has been pulled for a mortgage application (as required), the credit agencies actually sell this information to “trigger lead” companies. They sell the fact that you are contemplating a home purchase or refinance. This has nothing to do with the mortgage company you are applying with. Once your information is sold, you can find your phone ringing regularly even if you’re on the “Do Not Call” list. Worse still, the companies that resort to purchasing these trigger leads have been known to misrepresent themselves or engage in bait and switch tactics. Use of trigger leads is not permitted at Inlanta Mortgage.

Trigger leads get re-sold many times over. Some of the less savory characters that purchase trigger leads might contact you under the guise of being your lender and try to extract important personal information. For safety’s sake, NEVER provide your social security number or mother’s maiden name over the phone. Want to do more? Tell your Congressional representatives at (202) 224-3121 to stop the credit agencies from selling your information.

Assure Your Security and Peace of Mind

Fraud and identity theft are not things you want to face at any time. Identify theft can take a long time to resolve. Opting out of pre-approved offers is free and only takes a couple of minutes. That’s far less than the time you could spend shredding unwanted mail, dealing with unwanted calls, or trying to come back from identity theft.

If you believe you may have already been targeted or defrauded, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1 (877) 382-4357.

Choose a Mortgage Company You Can Trust

Not every mortgage company relies on shady tactics to earn business. Inlanta Mortgage relies on relationships and referrals. The majority of our customers are referred to us from Realtors or past customers.